Mileage for sole traders: HMRC's flat rate, explained
Does MTD apply to you yet?Drive for work and HMRC lets you claim a flat rate per business mile instead of totting up fuel and repair receipts. For the 2026 to 2027 tax year it's 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles, then 25p after that, with motorcycles at a flat 24p. Do 8,000 business miles this year and that's a £4,400 deduction for driving exactly as you already do.
The 2026-27 rates
| Vehicle | Rate per mile |
|---|---|
| Cars and goods vehicles, first 10,000 business miles | 55p |
| Cars and goods vehicles, after 10,000 miles | 25p |
| Motorcycles, all miles | 24p |
HMRC's own example: 11,000 business miles in a year is 10,000 at 55p plus 1,000 at 25p, a claim of £5,750.
What the flat rate replaces
The rate stands in for the actual costs of buying and running the vehicle: insurance, repairs, servicing, fuel, the lot. So no fuel receipts on top, and no claiming the van's service alongside it. Two things sit outside it and are claimable as well: other travel, like trains and taxis, and parking and tolls.
The choice is per vehicle and sticky: once you use the flat rate for a vehicle, you keep using it for as long as that vehicle is in the business. You also can't use it for a vehicle you've claimed capital allowances on.
Which journeys count
Business miles only. Trips to temporary job sites, runs between jobs, the merchant run for materials, driving to quote a job: all count. Ordinary commuting between home and a regular workplace doesn't, and neither does personal driving. The line matters, and it's exactly why every trip in SoleTax gets a one-tap business-or-personal answer.
The 10,000-mile switch
The 55p rate covers the first 10,000 business miles per vehicle in each tax year, then the rate drops to 25p for the rest of that year. On 6 April the counter resets. Motorcycles skip the whole mechanism: 24p flat, however far you ride.
The record you need
A mileage claim survives scrutiny when each business journey has a date, a distance, and a where-and-why. A diary or spreadsheet works. An app that logs the drive by itself, works out the rate, and files it as a digital record works better, which is, as you'd guess, the bit SoleTax does automatically.
Quick answers
Can I claim fuel receipts as well as the flat rate?
No. The flat rate replaces the costs of buying and running the vehicle, fuel included. It's one method or the other, and once you use the flat rate for a vehicle you stick with it for that vehicle.
Does driving from home to a job count?
Travel to temporary job sites counts as business travel. Ordinary commuting between home and a regular workplace doesn't.
What about electric cars?
The rate is per business mile, whatever the vehicle runs on. HMRC's table draws no fuel-type distinction.
Do motorbikes get the same rate?
Motorcycles are a flat 24p a mile with no 10,000-mile switch.
Get all of this handled for you
Snap receipts as you get them. Drive like you always do. Invoice from your phone. SoleTax turns all of it into MTD-ready digital records, and shows the tax building as you go. 14 days free, no card needed.
Join the betaSources: gov.uk simplified expenses (vehicles), gov.uk expenses if you're self-employed (travel), and HMRC's Business Income Manual. Checked on 4 July 2026.